The eight-minute response target used by the Welsh Ambulance Service will be scrapped for all but life-threatening emergencies

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The eight-minute response target used by the Welsh Ambulance Service will be scrapped this week for all but life-threatening emergencies.

From Thursday, October 1, the service will work to a new pilot model which aims to end the current practice of sending multiple ambulances to a 999 call in order to meet the response time.

Patients not in imminent danger of death will get a response based on their clinical needs, which will not necessarily mean a trip to hospital but could mean a referral to NHS Direct Wales or a GP.

The pilot was established after the McClelland review recommended that the Labour Welsh Government move away from the eight-minute target to a “more intelligent set of indicators”, which put a greater emphasis on patient outcomes and experience.

However, the move was blasted by opposition AMs, who described it as a “dangerous experiment”.

The Welsh Ambulance Service consistently missed the eight-minute response target for nearly two years, although there were signs of improvement in the early months of 2015.

Dr Brendan Lloyd, medical director at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “Since 1974, our ambulance service has been measured by the time it takes to reach emergency calls.

“Para-medicine and pre-hospital care has developed rapidly since then, but the focus is still on how many ambulances arrive at calls within eight minutes, regardless of the clinical outcome.

“That’s why we’re moving away from time-based targets to look more at the quality of what we do for our patients once we arrive.

“Having an ambulance arrive at a patient’s door quickly does not necessarily translate to a better outcome for the patient, but having the right type of vehicle arrive at a patient’s door and timely transport to a treatment centre does.”

The new model will introduce three new categories of calls – red, amber and green – to replace the current system.

Red calls are immediately life-threatening incidents where someone is in imminent danger of death, such as a cardiac arrest.

The eight-minute target will be retained for this group of calls, with an initial target of 65%.

Amber calls refer to those patients with conditions which may need treatment and care at the scene, and then fast transport to a healthcare facility if needed.

Green calls are less urgent and can often be managed by health services like GPs or through self-care.

Dr Lloyd added: “In order to meet the complex and growing demands on our ambulance service, we need to transform the way we deliver our services.

“This new model will make our ambulance service among the most progressive in the world.”